The dot should work well for passive. I would definitely look into a good IR laser/IR illuminator. IRIS units should start shipping in the next few months.

BLUF: No, you do not need a dedicated night gun.

Even I do not think I’ve got a single gun that’s set up solely for night time use, they’re all quite capable guns during the day as well, though for obvious reasons, night time use is a heavy consideration when I am setting most guns up these days.

Moreover, the “one do-it-all day / night gun” is the concept used by most members of the military, including almost all conventional infantry.

Beyond that, how you set up your “SHTF” gun should probably have more to do with your specific threat profiles / template, and what kinds of things you expect to be doing than day / night specifically. And since, for now at least, “SHTF” is a relatively low-probability scenario, it’s also probably worth considering your specific shooting / training habits / capabilities—I would submit that you’d be better served with a “night capable Day Gun” that you shoot all the time, versus a “Night Gun” that you rarely shoot / train with (if that’s your situation). “Enemy” MLCOA (Most Likely Course of Action) and MDCOA (Most Dangerous Course of Action) considerations can play a factor here.

You can also have similar capabilities but prioritize equipment slightly differently based on what you do / train / expect more of, e.g., back when the “likely threat” was mostly daytime small-arms engagement and IEDs against an enemy with limited night vision capabilities, I preferred and was an “early adopter” of “LPVOs,” using things like an ACOG with RDS piggybacked, ELCAN, and S&B Short Dots.

These days, since my “most likely” ranges have shrunk (not many mountains or valleys near me these days) and I do probably a majority of my shooting at night now (and work for a night vision company ), and actively working to proliferate night vision capabilities as widely as possible, I heavily favor RDS / magnifier setups on most of my guns, as they offer a similar capability during the day (though not as “optimized”), but are much easier to use with night vision / at night, particularly for passive NV engagement.

I would venture to say that for most U.S. shooters without a specific “mission,” primarily shooting 100 yards and in during the day at the range, a basic carbine with an IR-capable MFAL, light, RDS, QD magnifier, and sling is pretty much the perfect “general purpose” rifle, but I suppose if everyone just rolled with that, it would prevent us from spending hours online endlessly wargaming scenarios to build our rifles for.

The “half-solution” often chosen by guys that are / were issued two uppers—long and short, was often to set up the long upper for more “daytime” optimization with an LPVO and MFAL, while their short upper was “nighttime” optimized with an RDS and maybe a magnifier and MFAL, but again, you’re almost splitting hairs there, and both could be used for either if needed / desired.

~Augee

This.

0 to 600 yards during day (RMR closer, ACOG farther), passive at night with RMR, D2 for as needed at night.